Good evening everybody im ilean before we jump into our event i wanted to thack you all for coming. Eventses like this couldnt be possible if it werent for your generous support showing up to them, so really thank you so much for adding to your denver Reading Community we really appreciate it. So weaver honor to talk to emily about grassroots rise an fall of marijuana in america and emily received ph. D. In american studies from George Washington university and grassroots is actually based off her dissertation. The inspiration for such im sure shell tell us more about as she starts her talk. So emily has been peesmed on History Channel npr and work can also be found in the Washington Post the atlantic, History News Network and run washington. Were very excited to have emily here today because as you know here in colorado, weve had a very intriguing conversation going about marijuana. Even before it was usually legalized in 2014. And emilys book adds to this conversation with new research and interviews which expands this conversation even more than we could even hope to so without any further adieu lets give a warm welcome to emily dustin. [applause] thank you so much for having me here. It is really an honor to speak at the cover which is a establishment that has put on cultural events and pardon my voice i caught a cold from my toddler son you know how baby colds are theyre the worst so hopefully my voice will hold on. I actually havent been to colorado since 2010, and city has really changed the state has really changed. You all really are at the forefront of the movement that will be discussing tonight. I mean legalizing marijuana in 2012 is huge before people infused pot into beer at least professionally youre so in cutting edge youre really set the pace. So i would like to start tonight by kind of situating where we are in the current moment not quite a month in the second year of the trump administration. And whatever your feelings on that subject iemg sure you can agree it is a distinctly weird time to be alive. And perhaps no more so than americas strange relationship in shifting relationship with both leelg and it legal drugs. Last year i read probably on twitter if Hillary Clinton were marijuana we would have experienced a different inauguration in 2017 and this is not to say clinton made pot we would have elected president pot or something but rather in four states that legalized marijuana in 2016 election, all of them got marijuana in all of them got significantly higher Approval Ratings than either president ial candidates. And both the support is both and a was is overwhelmingly bipartisan too. Republicans and democrats like both really support legalized marijuana right it is and a mantle of us agree that the drugs should be both sold in tax like alcohol or tobacco. This is remarkable because as a nation we have very difficult time agreeing on anything. Right, on me too, on dak daca on north korea and russia but a gallup poll suggest that 60 support recreational legalization we dont agree on anything right but fine if you smoke. [laughter] until it isnt. After rooting for legalize marijuana in november 2016, dispensaries in california opened their doors on january 1st of this year. California is an incredibly big deal in the world of legalized marijuana. Not only does it make the west coast essentially a block of legalization which will expand northward when canada legalizes in july. But it also nearly doubles the market and basically overnight. Sales of legalized marijuana Recreational Marijuana in 2017 totaled about 10 billion. Before california hit the market this year, california is actually expected to generate it be about 5 billion in sales alone. And it be one billion in taxes. This is huge. But three days after californias law went into effect attorney general Jeff Sessions revoked Obama Administration coal memo which essentially said that within reason, assuming you dont grow on federal lands and children across states lines stuff like that federal officials will allow it to stand. Sessions action doesnt actually do that much. Right it is more saber rattling than anything else since 95 of drug arrests occur on state level because neither the dojodea has people or resources to necessarily go after large scale growers and district tores. But it is an incredibly clear symbolic shift is right. Sessions seems to be saying im going to ignore pots rising social acceptance and im going to focus on it because ting that it is as bad as heroin. So there. Right when news about sessions actions went live, people kind of lost their minds. Legal pot is, obviously, already a very cay yotic industry anything that remains legal on state level and e leelg on a federal level will naturally face up hill climb. But sessions announcement jump started fears of a return to 1980s war or drugs with more arrests more busts, more targeting of africanamericans saw racist motives feared we hngt learned from past mistakes. But as for me, i wasnt really surprised. My book was released almost exactly a month to the day before sessions action went live in it i predicted he would revoke coal memo did not expect it to happen this quickly but i did predict it. And thabl its reasons for doing so are more complex than near racism. But particularly since Recreational Marijuana overwhelmably benefits upper middleclass rights those who can afford legal taxation rates. Instead i believe that both sessions action it is and a peoples very passion responses to it are products of this 50year battle over legal station that is brought us to this point. As well as the distinct resurrection of previous behaviors. Psych of marijuana acceptance or peening pendulum constant swing between criminality it shift to match circumstance but in their retelling, the pattern remains fundamentally the same. So thats what my book and my talk tonight are both bairvegly focusing on. The emergence of the pattern what happened since first legalization protest of 1964 to bring us to this point. And perhaps youll see the same pattern i think is there or perhaps you wont and either way we can discuss in the q an a section to come. As i said first took place in 1964 in august of 1964, and in sphrifng to be more precise. There is marijuana history before 19674, of course, thats not really the focus of my book but there are tons of excellent titles that if i could give you a bibliography about if youre interested. So suffice to say buy the time it rolls around the federal governments views on marijuana kind of evolve much past the 1936 madness if youre familiar with that. The Government Official scam was that marijuana pretty much led to a number of horrible things including heroin addictions, south side, murder, et cetera instead i start in 1964 when a young man named loll walks into this San Francisco hall of justice lights up a joint declares hes starting campaign to legalize marijuana and asks to be arrested. Which he immediately is [laughter] his action is the first shot in what will become a 50year battle over marijuana in which thousands tens of thousands of average ordinary americans essentially went to war over pot. But is a support or o oppose a drug together these two factions of grassroots activist went on to change the countrys marijuana laws three times. First in the 1970s when they spread decriminalization to a dozen states. Then in the 1980s when the drug was recriminallized and demonized in the 19 and just say 1980s. And then during the growing social acceptance of medical marijuana in the 1990s which paved way for growing social acceptance of Recreational Marijuana today. In turn, growing social acceptance has birthed renewed counterrevolution which we can see in the actions of Jeff Sessions in the prominence antilegalization activist like kevin, and major farm pharmaceutical companies are promoting legalization laws because essentially they cut into their bottom line. And is it all starts request this guy. Named lol hes interesting because hes it will years old and 64 when he launches his first protest and hes not like a hippie as we come to know them today. 64 is about a year before this thousands of sandal wearing on three years before the summer of love hes a pretty easy going normal guy hes a tshirt and jeans kind of guy short hair likes to spend time with his dogs. But he essentially launches revolution as unlikely as it is with the help of his attorney james white. James white is also a really are interesting historical figure. Hes a conservative or more like a libertarian described himself to the right of barry gold water which is extreme. But hes strongly believed that government should not be able to tell an individual what to do. In their private life assuming, of course, theyre not hurting anyone else. Hes also a researcher, and he addition up old government reports some of them cradled including indian hemp drug and Panama Commission of 1925, and these showed that the federal government once believed that pot was less toxic and less habit forming than both alcohol and tobacco and by showing that the federal government wants this way, what bairvegly argues that modern law against marijuana are u unconstitutional and claim not deserve to be jailed for its use. To appeal goes nowhere. But he is actually incarcerated for about a year. He immediately upon his release he essentially abandons the movement but white stays with it. He starts to hand illustrate reports that he signs and calls them marijuana puffins he starts to district a district them or to the protohipies living in San Francisco bay area. And he also forms a new Organization Called lee mar a contraction of legalize marijuana that quickly spreads throughout San Francisco area with the grateful dead and touring with concert things like that becomes very popular. And Alan Ginsberg known for howell a number of other things an played strangely by james franco in a recent film, hes also in San Francisco at the time. Hes quite prom an numerous ac lates to a national profile. He attends fursly morality in december of 64 so moved by it that he brings organization back with him when he returns to new york and forms first east coast chapter. So with the support of ginsberg he goes quickly national. But coast legalization also get wrapped up . Something else which is the Youth Movement at the time. Finding these old reports which the government has, obviously, back pedaled on the fence, a growing number of young people saw a familiar story that the government could lice. It was currently lying about waiting war in vietnam. It was lying about the necessity of segregation and now people very finding that it was lying about effects of marijuana as well combined with baby boomer and raising rates of the youth cry ares for legal vaition got swept up with people to antiwar marches and civil rights demonstrations it was a moment of real historical so before we go any further to retract a little bit, and describe where our marijuana laws actually come from. In 1970 as on this try trajectory joining up with social movements there was actually no distinct federal law against the trug kind of incredible right theres state law, of course, in somewhere far harsher than others but no distinct federal law outlawing marijuana. Richard nixon elected president in 68 again in 72 recognized the threat that it posed to his administration and he uses his law and order stance as a mean to thwart his detractors. He quickly realizes that by targeting marijuana he can get a lot of youth activists locked away. Protesting, obviously, isnt against the law. Its the First Amendment right but pot could have an offense and maybe particularly serious offense to get congress to pass a new law. So thats what he does. Nixon and his attorney general John Mitchell lobby very, very lard to pass a controlled substantive act of 1970 you may rkdz to the five schedule in which it places drugs schedule one are drugs that are considered incredibly prone to abuse and with no recognized medical value and down to schedule five afrin things like that nixon works hard to convince congress to place in schedule one. Pending results and able to do that by suggesting that the placement would actually be temporary. Pending results of the twoyear investigation that the control substancive act also sets u up. This is essentially called National Commission on marijuana and drug abuse also known as a the commission because it was run by ramon shafer republican 6 my home state of pennsylvania. So chafer commission is 13 minute task with conducting a twoyear investigation that would finally explore scope and depth the marijuana use. Nixon naturally hoped to find horrible things about the drug. That would benefit his criminalization of it. He hopes they would link to violence to harder drug use, to bad grades to be generally in declining moral nation and he even strong armed shafer several times bringing it to the office promising him a federal judgeship that he was really going for. If the results match what nixon is searching for. But things dont work out that way. Rather extraordinary. Instead Shafer Commission finds no connection whatsoever between marijuana and any of the things that nixon is trying to blame pot for. Instead they find that about 24 million americans tried pot at that time 11 of the population and 12 million were regular users so 5 or 6 an found that marijuana users were basically no different than average american citizen. They were no more lazy, or o violent or whatever. They decide that marijuana laws are essentially unfair. And he was responsible for that Commission Law in oregon by the 1973 they passed a statewide criminalization turning possession into the equivalent of a parking ticket. What is remarkable is the sky does not fall people are supportive of the law the National Organizations for the reform of marijuana laws is founded in d. C. In 1970 very supportive of these laws and then they start to pasty criminalization laws as well as in 1878 mississippi minnesota and the brass to decriminalize personal possession so one third of the country lived where it was nothing more than a civil fine. Jimmy carter went on that with his president ial run 1976 by 78 people think decriminalization or maybe legalization is around the corner. While decriminalization lies spread across the country another industry is popping up. Remember the economy in the 70s there was gas lines around the block around the block, inflation, but one Significant Growth industry is marijuana paraphernalia. So in 1977 the market brings 250 million per year off of pipes and papers that is the equivalent of 1 billion today now thanks to increasing interest and the variations of titles with the new marijuana culture that they could advertise these new things but it becomes problematic and inadvertently or purposely. There was the frisbee with a pipe you puff and past and then a boardgame and while promoted and marketed to adults, some people start to notice there is the trickledown effect and now adolescence skyrocket during this time now how many seniors report smoking pot everyday and it is very easy to get. So this situation with near nationwide rapid acceptance of decriminalization compounded by the boom of paraphernalia with the rise of adolescent marijuana use launches the first counterrevolution and actually started in jimmy carters hometown but it really had a bad rap the past couple of years people say they are angry or hyperbolic they were legitimate about the marijuana use it seems to have come out of nowhere now it is prevalent so now it is ingested they could do irreparable harm to their children. The federal government reports it makes young boys grow breast and Young Children young girls in fertile. Where kids would give up on life before it had begun. So they gathered together and with this conscious groups to share information to collectively pair into their kids now we will give them alternative options after school. A couple published pamphlets and it become so popular into be distributing over 1 million copies of that campaign. Parents everywhere here this and they join in droves so the movement takes off and by 1980 now across the country there is a lobbying group in d. C. Called the National Federation for drugfree but not only that it spread like wildfire across the country but that it was effective marijuana use plunged and by 1981 year later i School Students actually believe it is really dangerous and so it drops and the parents win. Right . The problem is solved. But not so fast. In 1980 the year reagan is elected to the oval office and i am not kidding you the climber with more social ambition more than lady macbeth. And to see more maternal. So to transform transforming into the most famous activist in about eight years i have a whole chapter how she starts from just say no from a grandmother in oakland i highly recommend you read it that this is where we see the pendulum take the big shift. With that passive acceptance of decriminalization to the demonization in the 1980s. And this is because parent activists change the conversation in the United States. So decriminalization laws were passed on the idea the adults have the right to do what they want in the privacy of their own home assuming youre not hurting anyone else. But nancy reagan turn this around it wasnt about adults that the right of a child to grow up drugfree. It didnt matter what the adult thought they could or could not do because as soon as the drug would trickle down they would use it that becomes problematic and dangerous so they are also worthy to be locked up and criminalized for marijuana use. So the movement gets really hot and it becomes the demon drug of the nation easy episodes of different strokes or punky brewster so even though rates are plummeting at the same time. So now the race of other drug use is dropping so that is the time marijuana becomes the target dru